Hey all,
We had our first fallgration flight (fall migration Sandhill Crane aerial survey) on Thursday the 30 th . We did not see any Sandhill Cranes in the 80-mile stretch of river and surrounding landscape. This isn’t unusual at all as normal behavior in the fall is to move right on past us or maybe stop for just a night.
The cranes that have stayed longer the past few years seem to arrive later in November. Since the flight, we have anecdotally seen more Sandhill Cranes (maybe a few hundred) coming in the evening to roost on the river near our office but there doesn’t seem to be any longevity to their stay. The survey wasn’t a total bust as Elsa Forsberg (Wildlife Biologist) spotted the first Whooping Cranes of the season on river! Two adults graced us with their presence and added some excitement to the cab of the plane. Since then a few other Whoopers have been through the area. Our next flight is tomorrow. Maybe some of these cranes being blown in from the North will stick around tonight. We’ll let you know!
Till next time,
Forsbird & The Crane Counter
(Elsa Forsberg & Bethany Ostrom)
If you see a Whooping Crane be respectful by keeping your distance and report it on this link!
https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/35b4e722a402472ebe8db1261441a0b8